Story
Survey of U.S. Business Economists: 2.1 Percent Growth in 2013
WASHINGTON (AP) — Business economists believe the country will see modest growth in 2013 with strength coming from a further rebound in housing which will help offset weakness in business …
Story
Hacker Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison After Testimony By Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera and Others
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge sentenced a hacker to 10 years in prison on Monday after he broke into the personal online accounts of Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera …
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Hasbro Announces a 'Gender Neutral' Easy-Bake Oven is Coming Soon
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Hasbro says it will soon reveal a gender-neutral Easy-Bake Oven after meeting with a New Jersey girl who started a campaign calling on the toy maker …
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UPDATED: Obama Counter-Offers on Fiscal Cliff: Raise Taxes on Earnings over $400k
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has proposed a deficit-reduction package to House Speaker John Boehner that would increase the top tax rates on taxpayers earning more than $400,000, cut …
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Obit: Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Dead at Age 88
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, the influential Democrat who broke racial barriers on Capitol Hill and played key roles in congressional investigations of the Watergate and Iran-Contra …
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'Heat of Passion' Gets Wife Killer New Trial
Quincy Clayton says shooting his wife with a shotgun was an accident.
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Civil Rights
The Other Crucial Civil Rights Case the Supreme Court Will be Ruling On
Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would hear two cases challenging state and federal laws which prevent the legal union between same-sex couples.
Story
Events
Community Events and Public Meetings
The Scholastic Writing Awards Call for Submissions is all through today at Eudora Welty House at the Eudora Welty Education and Visitors Center.
Story
Obama Signals Action Following School Shooting
President Barack Obama is vowing to use "whatever power this office holds" to safeguard the nation's children, raising the prospect that he will pursue policy changes to stem gun violence …
Story
Right-to-Work Nevada a Rare Bright Spot for Labor
The future of the American labor movement may lie just off the Las Vegas Strip, inside a squat building huddled in the shadow of the Stratosphere casino.
Story
Movement Seen in 'Fiscal Cliff' Talks
The White House and congressional Republicans are a long way from agreeing on a plan to deal with the "fiscal cliff." But it seems like some progress is being made.
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Big Price for Inaugural Pomp; Much Private Money
The pomp surrounding the inauguration of the president of the United States can carry a hefty price tag, from the glitzy galas to all those inaugural balls.
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Students Prepare for Nervous Return to Classes
Jessica Kornfeld drove her children to their elementary school this past weekend. She wanted them to feel reassured that it was still a safe place, despite a horrific shooting in …
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Crime
Gun-Control Debate Simmering After Massacre
Democrats say meaningful action must include a ban on military-style assault weapons and a look at how the nation deals with mental illness.
Story
Chuck Hagel, Front-Runner for Defense Secretary: Moderate Republican, Vietnam Vet, Obama Confidante
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel is a contrarian Republican moderate and decorated Vietnam combat veteran who is likely to support a more rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops …
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City & County
10 Local Stories of the Week
There's never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them.
Story
Man Arrested Saturday After Firing 50 Shots in California Mall Parking Lot
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A man was arrested Saturday after firing about 50 shots in the parking lot of a Southern California shopping mall, prompting a lockdown of stores …
Story
Two Separate Saturday Shootings in Alabama End with Suspects Killed
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Police in Alabama killed two suspects Saturday following separate shooting incidents 75 miles apart that left three other people dead and several injured, including two officers.
Story
Toyota Mississippi President Enjoys Opportunity
Masafumi Hamaguchi has been in Mississippi a little more than two years, working for Toyota.
Entry
More Guns, More Violence... Is There a Connection?
By Todd StaufferMother Jones posted a piece back after the Aurora shootings that has now been updated in light of the Sandy Hook murders that happened on Friday. Their point -- the country now has 300 million guns in circulation; up from 200 million in 1995. At the same time, there's a definitive increase in laws that have loosened gun owners abilities to carry those guns in more and more places.
The question is... have all of those guns and gun laws made us any safer? The gun lobby says yes. The analysis, however:
In the wake of the slaughters this summer at a Colorado movie theater and a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, we set out to track mass shootings in the United States over the last 30 years. We identified and analyzed 61 of them, and one striking pattern in the data is this: In not a single case was the killing stopped by a civilian using a gun. Moreover, we found that the rate of mass shootings has increased in recent years—at a time when America has been flooded with millions of additional firearms and a barrage of new laws has made it easier than ever to carry them in public. And in recent rampages in which armed civilians attempted to intervene, they not only failed to stop the shooter but also were gravely wounded or killed.
So, if we're still waiting for that one time that all of these guns and all of these gun laws actually brings down a mass murderer -- might now be a time to consider other measures aimed at keeping guns out of the wrong hands? (And, perhaps, getting people more mental health help?)
